Page 1193 - Top MMA News and Mixed Martial Arts Headlines

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Marcus Davis was a 19-year-old professional boxer the night he sat down to watch UFC 1 in 1993. He didn’t know a thing about jiu-jitsu or grappling, but what he knew, or at least what he thought he knew, was that he could pummel the crap out of that skinny guy rolling around on the ground twisting arms and choking people.
Davis laughed when UFC 1 was over and Royce Gracie, who weighed all of 180 pounds soaking wet, came out as the tournament winner.
“Being a boxer and watching guys with what I considered horrible standup and seeing a guy who was 180 pounds at most taking guys out and making them quit, well, I had no concept of what was happening,” Davis said. “The only conclusion I could draw was that it was fake. I thought the whole thing was phony. It’s the only thing that made sense to me.”

The Japanese-based World Victory Road organization today announced the signing of Olympic silver medalist Hiroshi Izumi to its Sengoku event series.
Although no debut date has been set, the 27-year-old Izumi is expected to make his anticipated professional MMA debut by year's end.

Two fighters both in need of a win will square off at WEC 43 when Manny Tapia (10-2-1 MMA, 2-2 WEC) meets former WEC bantamweight champion Eddie Wineland (14-6-1 MMA, 1-2 WEC).
The bout was first reported by Matt Erickson of The Northwest Times of Indiana. WEC officials could not immediately confirm the matchup when contacted by MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), but Wineland himself confirmed the bout in the NTI report.
WEC 43 takes place Sept. 2 at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio, and features a main event of Donald Cerrone vs. Benson Henderson for the WEC's interim lightweight title.

A bout between Chan Sung Jung (6-1) and Matt Jaggers (11-5) that will serve as the night's featherweight grand prix reserve bout is set for World Victory Road's upcoming Sengoku Ninth Battle event.
The Aug. 2 event features the semifinals and finale of the organization's featherweight tournament and takes place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Jaggers was eliminated in the first round of the 16-slot tournament in March, and Jung was eliminated in the second round two months later.

Strikeforce heavyweight fighter Lavar Johnson is recovering at a local Bakersfield, Calif., hospital after what appears to have been a successful surgery Monday morning.
When FanHouse contacted Zinkin Entertainment, the organization which represents Johnson, a publicist issued this update:
"Lavar underwent surgery this morning for internal injuries. The surgery was a success, and he is currently in stable condition. He sustained life-threatening injuries to internal organs. We ask for everyone to continue to keep Lavar in their prayers."

Jake O’Brien (11-2) is experiencing a bit of déjà vu. It’s his third time serving as a gatekeeper to a division’s upper level.
The 24-year-old freestyle wrestler turned fighter is 1-1 in the spoiler role, having defeated Pride standout Heath Herring in January 2007 and lost to fast rising Cain Velasquez last July.
On July 11, he’s aiming to rain on another prospect’s parade, Jon Jones, this time as a light heavyweight. Jones is a 21-year-old terror that grabbed headlines with an unconventional, go for broke style that dispatched Andre Gusmao and Stephan Bonnar. O’Brien’s is unconvinced that his opponent is the next big thing.

Surrounded by an aura of danger and mystery, Aleksander Emelianenko is one of the scariest men on the planet. The younger brother of consensus number one heavyweight in the world Fedor Emelianenko, Aleks has forged his own path to stardom.
Although still unknown to many of today’s Ultimate Fighter raised MMA fans in the U.S., Aleks has made it clear that will one day change. At only 27 years of age, the Saint-Petersburg born heavyweight plans on fighting for many years to come.

With UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva busy preparing for his Aug. 8 light-heavyweight showdown with Forrest Griffin, the next challenger for "The Spider's" middleweight crown may very well be decided on Saturday night in Las Vegas.
While Dan Henderson (24-7 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has openly stated he expects a second shot at Silva should he defeat Michael Bisping (17-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) at UFC 100, "The Count" recently said he's under the impression a win would also get him a shot at the 185-pound title.

Middleweights Tim Credeur (12-2 MMA, 3-0 UFC) and Nate Quarry (11-3 MMA, 6-2 UFC) are the latest additions to UFC Fight Night 19 in September, as the two middleweights have agreed to meet in a bout expected for the evening's main card.
Bout agreements have been distributed for the contest, and both fighters are expected to finalize the contracts over the next several days.

Recession? What recession? If there is one nobody has told the people spending the money at World Victory Road, as they've broken out the checkbooks again to add talent to Sengoku 9 on 8/2. This time they've signed 2004 Olympic judo silver medalist Hiroshi Izumi, who won his medal in the 90kg division, and also added a Featherweight GP reserve fight of Chan Sung Jung vs. Matt Jaggers.

Popular TUF 9 welterweight finalist DaMarques Johnson and has signed a multi-fight contract with the UFC. The news comes courtesy of The Salt Lake Tribune.
Johnson is coming off a solid overall showing during his time on Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter Season 9. The Jeremy Horn trained fighter made his way to the TUF 9 welterweight final before being stopped by James Wilks via first round submission.

Leading UK MMA promotion Cage Gladiators has today announced it has ceased operations and will no longer be staging events.
The Liverpool-based event produced a number of current UFC fighters, including Terry Etim and Paul Kelly, as well as hosting internationals such as Melvin Manhoef and Paul Cahoon.
Cage Gladiators released a statement this afternoon. "After many successful MMA events Cage Gladiators Ltd is sad to announce that it will no longer be putting on MMA events and is ceasing trading," it read.

As the UFC's first trip to Oklahoma in nearly 15 years continues to fill, MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) has learned from sources close to the negotiations that a lightweight contest between Kyle Bradley (14-6 MMA, 1-2 UFC) and Sam Stout (14-5-1 MMA, 3-4 UFC) has been targeted for UFC Fight Night 19.
Both fighters have verbally agreed to the contest and bout agreements are expected to be distributed shortly.

If you're a fan of MMA, you need to check out this video. The UFC is truly pulling out all the stops for UFC 100, and this brief video documents their early beginnings, as well as what we can expect from this sport in the future, and a tribute to the legends of the game.
A must see!

I'm putting this here because its big news!
“Had my UFC ring girl fitting today! Outfit looks bad ass!”
– Holly Madison — who is perhaps best known as Hugh Hefner’s favorite girlfriend during “The Girls Next Door” — Tweets about her fitting today for a UFC ring card girl get up. Madison has appeared in a UFC 98 video blog with company president Dana White not too long ago — she’s apparently a big fan of the sport. So is the 29-year-old Oregonian just having fun, getting dolled up for a special saunter at UFC 100 or will she somehow be included in the the first-ever Maxim UFC Octagon Girl Search at the fan expo … or all of the above? Can’t wait to get to the bottom of this …

A rematch between rivals Nick Diaz and Joe Riggs is set for the main card of Strikeforce "Carano vs. Cyborg" on Aug. 15. The bout will be for the newly created welterweight title.
Sources close to both fighters confirmed the news to MMAWeekly.com on Monday. An announcement from the promotion is expected shortly.
It is the fourth title fight confirmed for the late summer card. Gina Carano faces Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos for the women's 145-pound belt, Josh Thomson defends his lightweight strap against Gilbert Melendez, and heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem defends against Fabricio Werdum.

A welterweight fight between Chris Wilson and Mike Pyle has been scheduled for UFC Fight Night 19 in Oklahoma City. Sources confirmed with FanHouse Sunday evening that the bout will be made official later this week.
UFC Fight Night 19 is scheduled for Sept. 16 at the Cox Convention Center. Gray Maynard will reportedly face Roger Huerta on the same card.